Issues in Public and Nonprofit Administration

Has “Black Lives Matter” become a hate group?

In today’s political climate, many of us have grown accustomed to taking everything offensively. This has become all too apparent when looking at the protests that have been taking place over the United States. Let’s discuss one such group, Black Lives Matter. First of all, do they matter? Absolutely! Secondly does the organization have the right to protest? Yes, the First Amendment guarantees that right. That is not the issue. What is there purpose? According to theirsite: “#BlackLivesMatter is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society”. Their movement is to combat racism and a system they feel is “rigged” against them. In this post, I intend to prove that they have simply become another hate group.

* Disclaimer – I do not support any commentary or titles to these videos. I am simply providing the footage that proves some of this movement is indeed racist toward white people. There are many more instances of this happening, however I feel this gets my point across.

Any time that you assume that a certain race has a set of privileges you don’t have, you are participating in a stereotype. This is because an assumption was made solely on my skin color. Furthermore, you have emotionally devalued that person. Some will simply think that no matter what happens, they are worthless because of racial stereotypes. This concept works both ways. Another problem that occurs is the fact that some end up resenting me based on melanin content, or the lack thereof.

In my opinion, when you harm others economically to prove a point (e.g. roadblocks), you are participating in a form of hate speech. The reason for this summation is that you are wanting others to share your racial values forcefully. I would also argue that this is also assuming that those on the other side do not care about the movement. It does not make sense to your movement to force anyone to listen to you. Blocking traffic is not the answer! This may seem like a good idea, however standing in front of large machines covered in metal is apoor choice (Please excuse the title of the video). This isn’t the only problem that occurs though. Another problem that occurs is the fact that everyone on the freeway are late for work, losing income, or not meeting other daily obligations that force them to travel. This forces people to not support your movement. In fact, it usually causes people to work against it. Since it hurts people unintentionally, I consider it to fall within the realm of hateful.

No to address the organization itself. Is everyone involved in this movement racist? Definitely not! Are there a lot of vocal people who are racist within this movement? I wholeheartedly believe it. Does the organization hold merit in terms of police brutality? Yes, it does. Does it have the right to harm others emotionally, physically, or economically? No, that’s where I draw the line. I believe that using our governments system of petitioning combined with those who truly are bettering racial relations should be at the forefront of the movement.

I could go on all day about racism and reverse racism. However, I want to spend this moment to petition my fellow man and woman. I challenge each of you to stop with the “white privilege” this and the “black thug” that stereotypes. We should treat others as we want to be treated. We should always help each other overcome problems like these. Some will not change with the times, but that is the case with any population. I understand that this will not be a problem solved over night, however I believe it will provide a better future for our children. I believe morality over melanin should prevail.

Tim Holt

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14 Responses

Black Lives Matter, fails to address the fact that most black lives are lost at the hands of other blacks. They only want to point to “white” America as the assailants, when white America doesn’t inflict as much harm to blacks, as blacks do to their own people.

Policy brutality: Records show that more “white” citizens have lost their lives, as a result of conflict with law enforcement, than black citizens. But that doesn’t get reported. And when we see a video of a woman in a car describing that her boyfriend was shot and killed for no reason, black America takes her word as “truth”, but doesn’t bother to validate if she is being truthful, nor listen to the other side. They get one viewpoint, and run with it as “truth”.

White America took the chains off of Black America, years ago, but Black America cannot seem to take the chains off of themselves – and some don’t want to. Some want to spend their time “complaining” and seeking entitlements and government handouts, rather than putting time into themselves with education, etc., and bettering their lot in life. It’s easier to complain.

Black Americans need to look towards people such as Condi Rice, Clarence Thomas, Ben Carson, and many, many more “successful” Black Americans, as opposed to individuals such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jacksons – who have “used” Black America to gain wealth for themselves, not to help Black America achieve success and prosperity.

Black Lives Matter is not a hate group, although you do make some very interesting points. From the outside looking in, it can be very difficult to understand, because you may or may not have experienced the things a person with more melanin has experienced. I would first like to state that African Americans come in many different colors, which is one of the reasons, we were given the name “Colored”. Black Lives Matter is not a hate group, it is simply a group that was formed, because many incidents in America, has shown that Black Lives here in the United States, have not and do not matter. The black community even shows that their own race lives do not matter, but it seems like America always forgets the root of the problem. America always forgets or tries to disguise who planted the seed for African Americans in the country. I am not making excuses for the African American community or the Black Lives Matter movement, but when you post a blog like this, you should really research your country’s history and relationship with African Americans. There has been a plethora of documented instances of racial injustices in America dealing specifically with African Americans, but yet America ceases to acknowledge the physical and psychological torment that African Americans have and are still experiencing this day. The Black Lives Matter movement is not just a movement, but a cry to America saying that, “Their lives matter too, they have a family that would love to see them return home, they have dreams and aspirations that they would love to accomplish.” I feel as though many people think that African Americans play the victim card too much, but in retrospect, THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE VICTIMS OF FAR TOO MUCH.

I understand your point, however I don’t agree. The group was formed to fight the social injustices of police brutality, under representation, and several other problems that faced the black community.

A. The black community has far greater numbers of “black on black” crime. This is something that is barely being addressed within BLM. FBI crime stats prove this summation. If the movement is a cry stating their lives matter, then this should also matter.

B. My local BLM protest was throwing garbage and yelling racial slurs at everyone who appeared white. I understand that it’s hard to see the other side of the situation, but that doesn’t negate its’ merit. No matter how you cut it, the evidence provided within the blog article, is enough to show that some of this movement is hateful. If someone is spouting racial slurs in a BLM march while the crowd is cheering, it is a hate protest.

C. The history of our country is very important, however, the injustices of the past are over. We are in the future and all discussion should remain here. Hate speech is any speech that discriminates against race, religion, or creed. Some BLM marches have stated “white people must die” and others claim someone they don’t know has “white privilege”. Since caucasian is considered a race, and the language is negatively charged, it is considered hate speech.

I stand by my decision to claim that BLM is a hate group. However, I do believe they have good principles, I just don’t believe they are widely practiced.

Great job! You made so many great points in a way that was professional and could be said publicly and appreciated. My feelings on this always get my upset and angry because yes, I feel like there have been situations where people have been “chosen” based on their race, or even just the way they look but as you said it goes both ways. I have read so many stories of innocent black people being killed by white cops, which is absolutely disgusting and terrible. I thought we moved past segregational acts decades ago, and it terrifies me to know that I have a step-daughter growing up with some people believing that it would be okay to bring that back. However, I do not believe that getting even is the right way to make a means to an end for this issue. We must stand up for what we believe in, regardless of race or sex and realize that nobody deserves to be treated the way they are being treated currently within the United States. It is not just a certain color or man or rank of police officer that do things wrong and thats the problem is we associate a black man and a white cop to a murder and its much more than that. I believe you said it well when you said that this is not an issue that will be solved overnight, but it is an issue that we should be working on daily to ensure that our children do not grow up believing things that aren’t right can still be done. We must focus on bettering the world one day at a time, in however we feel we can be the most beneficial.

Well said! I am glad you got the point I was trying to make. I think that we must discuss these issues openly in order to solve them appropriately. I have sister-in-law who has saddened by some of things she has told me. Some people do not want times to change. However, we must get through this hard time and prove that all people are created equal. That talk must be had no matter if it is pointing out hypocrisy within a group, or corruption from another group. I know that one day, our children and grandchildren will see a better world.

You made several valid points about the BLM group. However, there will always be those who want to be seen for the cameras as if they are for the fight, but actually could care less. Many of those types will not be concerned until it hits their front door. I think the BLM group started with the right intention, but once the looting and etc began, that is where it went wrong. Not because they sent them to do it, but because some of those same BL that they started the protest for, wanted to take an opportunity to prove the wrong thing. And as someone has mentioned, they did not address the BLs being killed by the hands of other BLs. With stereotypes, I can’t get behind the reasons that people are against it because there are still Black people partaking in said stereotypes. If people are so mad about being stereotyped, know what they are, then why not stop doing them? BLs do not want to be portrayed as “thugs” but I do not recall at any protest when those imposters started destruction did any of them stand and try to stop it. When all that happened and the media ran with it, the real BLM message was gone.

I really can appreciate this article. I especially liked the disclaimer. The points you made were great and the evidence is striking. I both agree and disagree with your stance. I think that there are several groups that start off as religious groups/ or other focuses to promote their agenda. The religious group’s title could help with recruitment of members. You never really know if someone hates unless you can get inside their head. It is like the person who claims to not be a racist. Or the person who explains how they have a gay friend. Do we really know if the members inside of black lives matter ( all, some or any) hate? Which groups do they concretely hate? Does the concern sometimes grow into a hate? Can the hate go away? I think a lot about the KKK and how they came about as an organization. I still cannot answer if each person’s individual hate equals a group unification of hate. Can a group filled with hate change their mission statement of hate? Does the entire group count as a hate group? Within all groups their is a divide. Are their extreme black lives matter members within the group’s entirety? Do the leaders have a higher level of hate. This is why I agree and disagree with you. I think that their are a variety of levels of hate. You could be a hate group and never officially declare it or show it. You could be an organization that claims to promote peace but also be filled with hate. I am definitely pondering this one. Thank you, for your entry.

Thank you for the enlightening post! I really liked how you pointed out the degrees of hate and how some cannot constitute all. That is very true. The slippery slope is this: National media attention is focused on the radicals of the group or at least the most vocal. The majority of Americans see the radicals who claim to be speaking in the interests of that group on the media. This incites radicals from the other side to perpetuate the hate. At this point, a small sampling has now enraged the other side, who is now causing more people to radicalize from the other side. It just looks like a vicious cycle of hate that won’t stop until both sides breathe and talk to each other.

I suppose this was ultimately why I see it as a hate group. They have tarnished their name in the eyes of the public and now both sides don’t know how to stop.

This post is incredible. This is most certainly a topic that needs to be addressed. I understand that protesting is a right of every American, however I do believe that restrictions need to be made on how protests can be performed. It is a bit ridiculous that people want to block streets and ever interstates and make other people late for meetings or work. Maybe these people that are in the streets should be getting themselves to work and worry about supporting their families and making America a better place for ALL. I think that a lot of people in “Black Lives Matter” have very good attention. However, I also agree that the point of the whole group has become that of a hate group more so than that of a unifying group. This is a sad reality and needs to be adjusted. I hate to see the country divided as much as it is and I think that with love and God that we could resolve the problems that this country is facing!

Tim,
However, you did make some good points.. But The Black Lives Matter Movement is not a hate group. It is a group who only wants to be treated equally like the rest of the Americans. Like Tywarren stated, from the outside looking in, it would be very hard of you to even comprehend or understand where we are coming from. The fight for equal rights and opportunity is one that many people think is over, but IT IS FAR FROM THAT. All we want(blacks) is the respect and treatment that everybody else is getting.

I agree with that the black community should be treated equally. I also agree that there are inherent problems with any ethnicity. Most importantly, my intent was never to downplay the importance of civil rights within our current time period.

My point, is that when a group begins chanting things like “white people, just die”, or “white privilege” because they are white, then that group has participated in racial hate. It is no different than when a white supremacist spouts racial hatred. It must be condemned on both sides equally.

I stand by the belief that BLM has become a hate group. They should never allow racial bigotry of any kind. It carries a hypocritical message of “do as I say, not as I do”.

Great post. I do not feel BLM movement is a hate group. I do feel that it is a great caused that started to get out of hand by radical individuals in different cities. I think that the organizers were intended for the protest to be peaceful as well as productive. The message was not delivered clearly enough. As a Black man and father of Black teens, I am concern for my family’s safety every time I hear of police brutality or racial injustices taking place across the country. Just like a vast number of BLM critics, I think that the message should have been Black Lives Matter Too. All lives do matter and I dislike the fact that someone had to single out the Black race (in this present day) in order for the race to have a voice that demands attention and change.

Very good point! I agree that radicals have essentially high-jacked the movement in some cities. Because of that, many people see the entire movement as tainted. That has caused this movement to lose its meaning to those observing. At the very least some sects are considered hate group based on their speech. Which presents the problem of observers getting upset and opposing the movement.

I also agree with adding the “too” on the end of the movement. It gets the same message across without seeming like its discounting others lives.

I’m glad that you pointed out your families’ safety in regards to police brutality. I am 100% for the civilian over-sight of police. The brutality that they carry out on the black community is something that needs to be addressed. That is why open lines of communication must be maintained. Unfortunately radicals from both sides tend to muddle that communication.

I understand what your trying to say but i do not agree. The group was put together because of African American deaths committed by our own law departments, that is suppose to protect all citizens. Yes you are right there is a lot of black on black crimes but there is no extra room for law departments be able to kill innocent black people. Black Lives Matter is full of all age groups of any color, not just one. Put forth to let the world know that black lives do matter and is not okay kill a innocent black person who is unarmed!